i

Call for Papers. Special Number "100 Years of Social Work: Discussions and Perspectives on the Discipline's Past, Present and Future". Submissions in Spanish or English until the 30th October 2024 for publication in April 2025 (Issue 9). For more information please see the following link.

Enhancing older persons welfare before, during and after the COVID crisis- Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Eswatini perspectives

Authors

Abstract

The embedding of robust approaches for ageing in national development agendas has been made more urgent by COVID 19. The article explores these three countries’ social protection domains of in offering an enabling environment for older persons’ dignity and enhanced social functioning before, during and hopefully after the COVID pandemic. Secondary sources of data including review of policy and research documents are used. The article also suggests pathways by which frontline social workers can contribute to galvanising older persons safeguarding and welfare in COVID 19 pandemic milieu., and offers some reflections on social workers’ challenges.

Keywords:

Lesotho; Eswatini; Zimbabwe; older persons; poverty; COVID-19

Author Biography

Tatenda Goodman Nhapi, Universidad de Johannesburgo

Graduated in Social Work from the University of Zimbabwe and graduated in Erasmus Mundus MA Advanced Development in Social Work, a joint program with the University of Lincoln (England); Aalborg University (Denmark); Technical University of Lisbon (Portugal); University of Paris Ouest Nantere La Defense (France); University of Warsaw (Poland). She started her career in Zimbabwe (2008-2013) working in Advocacy, Development and Social Research with a focus on child welfare.
Social, focusing on child welfare and gender issues. While working at the Zimbabwe Department of Social Services, his work focused on policies and implementation of protocols relating to the care and protection of children, the elderly, people with disabilities, the disadvantaged and households in distress. He is a research associate in the Department of Social Work and Community Development at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Tatenda's research program revolves around social policy and the implementation of development programs as he seeks to address issues such as poverty, inequality, HIV/AIDS and poverty traps of vulnerable groups such as women, children, the elderly and youth. Tatenda enjoys a high academic standing with a growing reputation in the field of research, evidenced by an emerging portfolio of internationally recognized publications.

References

African Development Bank. (2020). African Economic Outlook 2020 supplement. Tunis: AFDB.

Ansell, N., van Blerk, L., Robson , E., Hajdu, F., Mwathunga , E., Hlabana , T., & Hemsteede , R. (2019). Social cash transfers, generational relations and youth poverty trajectories in rural Lesotho and Malawi. London: Brunel University .

Barrantes, A. (2020, April 30). Now, more than ever, human rights considerations are vital for social protection responses to COVID-19. Retrieved from www.gi-escr.or: https://www.gi-escr.org/blog/now-more-than-ever-human-rights-considerations-are-vital-for-social-protection-responses-to-covid-19-1

Boko, J., Raju, D., & Younger, S. D. (2021). Welfare Shocks and Government Spending on Social Protection Programs in Lesotho. Wsshington: World Bank Group.

Business Times newspaper. (2020). NSSA awards pensioners’ discretionary bonus. Retrieved April 6, 2020, from https://businesstimes.co.zw/nssa-awards-pensioners-discretionary-bonus/

Center for Community Development Solutions (CCDS) and HelpAge International. (2020). COVID-19 rapid needs assessment of older people. Nairobi: HelpAge International.

Chitambara, P. (2020, April 17). Covid-19 implications on the economy (II). Retrieved from www.theindependent.co.zw: https://www.theindependent.co.zw/2020/04/17/covid-19-implications-on-the-economy-ii/

Dafuleya, G. (2020). Social a nd Emergency Assistance Ex-Ante and During COVID-19 in the SADC Region. The International Journal of Community and Social Development, 251–268.

Deputy Prime Ministers Office Eswatini. (2019). The Kingdom of Eswatini’s Country Progress Report on the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for action. Mbambane: Department of Gender and Family Issues.

Dewa,C(2021). ‘Swazi gold’: grandmothers in Eswatini growing cannabis to make ends meet.Retrieved 5 August 2021. from https://www.theguardian.com/global- development/2021/sep/02/swazi-gold-grandmothers-in-eswatini-growing-cannabis-to-make-ends-meet

Dhemba, J. (2021). Eswatini’s Social Policy Response to Covid-19: Temporary and Donor-Driven. Bremen: University of Bremen.

Dhlamini, A. (2007). A Review of Social Assistance Grants in Swaziland. Mbambane: Coordinating Assembly of NGOs.

Eswatini Deputy Prime Minister's office. (n.d). Questions and issues for contributions to Secretary-General Report pursuant General Assembly Resolution 65/182. New York: United Nations. Retrieved from Questions and issues for contributions to Secretary-General Report pursuant General Assembly Resolution 65/182

Famine Early Warning Network(FEWSNET). (2020). ZIMBABWE Food Security Outlook Update July 2020. Harare: FEWSNET.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2021). Zimbabwe Food security and agricultural livelihoods in the context of COVID-19 Monitoring report May 2021. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization.

Freeland, N. (2020, September 23). Crocodiles and CROCO dials: How the metrics of Coverage, Rate, Ownership, Continuity and Opportunity demonstrate the superiority of life-course social protection. Retrieved from https://www.developmentpathways.co.uk/: https://www.developmentpathways.co.uk/blog/crocodiles-and-croco-dials/

Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho. (2014). National Social Protection Strategy. Maseru: Government of Lesotho.

Granvik, M. (2016). Policy diffusion, domestic politics and social assistance in Lesotho, 1998–2012. Helsinki: United Nations for Development Rsearch.

Help Age International. (2020, April 10). UN Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19 fails to prioritise older people, despite highest risk of death. Retrieved from www.helpage.org: https://www.helpage.org/newsroom/latest-news/un-humanitarian-response-plan-for-covid19-fails-to-prioritise-older-people

ILO. (2016). ILO Social Protection Department Lesotho: Universal Old Age Pension. Geneva: ILO.

International Labour Organisation. (2020). Social protection responses to the COVID 19 pandemic in developing countries Strengthening resilience by building universal social protection. Geneva: ILO.

International Monetary Fund. (2020). IMF Country Report No. 20/41 Kingdom of Eswatini. Washington: IMF.

International Monetary Fund. (2020, July). IMF Executive Board Approves US$49.1 million in Emergency Support to Lesotho to Address the Covid-19 Pandemic. Retrieved from www.imf.org: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/07/29/pr20273-imf-executive-board-approves-emergency-support-to-lesotho-to-address-the-covid-19-pandemic

International Organisation for Migration. (2021). Preparedness and Response flash update. Harare: International Organisation for Migration Zimbabwe country programme.

Kumani,Z.(2021) Vaccinating Elders in Eswatini. Retrieved from www.gavi.org: https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/i-can-only-run-away-death-so-long-vaccinating-elders-eswatini

Leach, M., MacGregor, H., Scoones, I., & Wilkinson, A. (2021). Post-pandemic transformations: How and why COVID-19 requires us to rethink development. World Development.

Lloyd-Sherlock , P., Ebrahim, S., Geffen, L., & McKee, M. (2020). Bearing the brunt of covid-19: older people in low and middle income countries. British Medical Journal, 1-2.

Madzingira, N. (2019). Geographic and Programmatic Scoping for Adolescent Girls and Young Women.

Mbabane: UNICEF and Coordinating Assembly of Non-governmental Organizations.

Makore-Ncube, B. C., & Al-Maiyah, S. (2021). Moving from theMargins: Towards an Inclusive Urban Representation of Older People in Zimbabwe’s Policy Discourse. Societies , 1-21.

Mananavire, B. (2020, July 20). Pensioner sues over US dollar savings. Retrieved from www.theindependent.co.zw: https://www.theindependent.co.zw/2020/07/03/pensioner-sues-over-us-dollar-savings/

Ministry of Social Development and Help Age International. (2014). Priority Ageing Issues in Lesotho: A Mapping and Gap Analysis Of Government and Non-State Actor Policy and Program Responses. Maseru: HelpAge.

Mlope, S. (2020, July 9). Govt pays to pay social grants. Retrieved from www.dailynews.co.zw: https://dailynews.co.zw/govt-fails-to-pay-social-grants/

Murphy, M. (2018). Ageing in sub-Saharan Africa in the context of Global Development: The Multiple Indicator Survey project (MISA). London: London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ndlovu, R. (2021, May 17). IMF Calls for Major Reforms to Turn Zimbabwe’s Economy Around. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-17/imf-calls-for-major-reforms-to-turn-zimbabwe-s-economy-around

Neville, C. (2021, May 11). Zimbabwe: Urban poor grapple with high prices and hunger. Retrieved from https://www.wfp.org/: https://www.wfp.org/stories/zimbabwe-urban-poor-grapple-high-prices-and-hunger

New Zimbabwe.com. (2020, July 5). Thousands Fail To Travel To Access Covid-19 Allowances In Mat North. Retrieved from /www.newzimbabwe.com: https://www.newzimbabwe.com/thousands-fail-to-travel-to-access-covid-19-allowances-in-mat-north/

Ngozwana, N. (2019). Experiences of older adults as caregivers during times of disruption in Lesotho—Implications for adult education. ZfW, 289–304.

Noyoo, N. (2017). Reflecting on the Human Rights of Older Persons in South Africa. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work volume.

OCHA. (2020). OCHA Southern and Eastern Africa Regional COVID 19 Digest. Geneva: OCHA.

President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. (2019). Eswatini Country Operational Plan 2019 (COP19) Strategic Direction Summary. Retrieved from https://www.state.gov/: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Eswatini_COP19-Strategic-Directional-Summary_public.pdf

Rasool, S. (2020). Social workers are an untapped resource to address the psychosocial effects of Covid-19. Retrieved April 20, 2020, from https://mg.co.za/article/2020-04-13-social-workers-are-an-untapped-resource-to-address-the-psychosocial-effects-of-covid-19/

Rijkenburg , N. (2020). Budget speech to the parliament of the Kingdom of Eswatini. Mbabane: Government of Eswatini.

Roelen, K. (2020). People in poverty bear the brunt of Covid-19, and the worst is yet to come. Retrieved May 1, 2020, from https://www.ids.ac.uk/opinions/people-in-poverty-bear-the-brunt-of-covid-19-and-the-worst-is-yet-to-come/?utm_campaign=Latest%20new%20from%20IDS&utm_source=emailCampaign&utm_content=&utm_medium=email

Schubert, B. (2018). Quantitave assessment of the social assistance system in the Kingdom of Eswatini. Mbabane: UNICEF.

Schubert, B. (2020). Beware of the Crocodile: Quantitative Evidence on How Universal Old Age Grants Distort the Social Assistance Systems of Low‐Income Countries. Poverty & Public Policy, 188-205.

Scoones, I. (2021, May). Rural livelihoods in the pandemic: notes from Zimbabwe. Retrieved from https://zimbabweland.wordpress.com/: https://zimbabweland.wordpress.com/

Southern African Development Community (SADC). (2020). Regional Vulnerability Assessment & Analysis Programme. Gaborone: SADC.

The New Humanitarian Magazine. (2011, June 14). Elderly feel the loss of extended family. Retrieved from www.thenewhumanitarian.org: https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/report/92975/swaziland-elderly-feel-loss-extended-family

UNFPA Eastern and Southern Africa. (2020, April 30). Respect and protect our elderly as valued citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. Retrieved from https://esaro.unfpa.org: https://esaro.unfpa.org/en/news/respect-and-protect-our-elderly-valued-citizens-during-covid-19-pandemic

UNICEF Eswatini Country Office. (2018). 2018 Social Assistance Budget Brief 2018-2019. Mbambane: UNICEF.

UNICEF Lesotho. (2020). Humanitarian Action for Children 2021 - Lesotho. Maseru: UNICEF Lesotho County programme.

Uniited Nations Zimbabwe Country Team. (2020, April 8). WFP News Release | Urgent international support needed to prevent millions of Zimbabweans plunging deeper into hunger. Retrieved from www.zw.one.un.org: https://www.zw.one.un.org/newsroom/news/wfp-news-release-urgent-international-support-needed-prevent-millions-zimbabweans

United Nations Country Team Zimbabwe . (2021). UN Country Team - Zimbabwe COVID-19 weekly update Issue 45. Harare: United Nations Country Team Zimbabwe .

United Nations Country Team Eswatini. (2020). The potential socio-economic impacvt of COVID 19 outbreak in Eswatini. Mbambane: UNRCO.

United Nations Country Team Zimbabwe. (2020). Immeadiate Socio-economic reponse to COVID 19 in Zimbabwe. Harare: United Nations Zimbabwe.

United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA). (2020). Zimbabwe May 2020 Situation Report. Harare: UN OCHA.

United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA). (2020). Zimbabwe Situation Report 6 August 2020. New York: OCHA.

United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD. (2016. ). Policy innovations for transformative change. Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Geneva, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. Geneva: UNRISD.

United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. (2021). World social work day 2021. Geneva: UNRISD.

World Bank. (2020, March). Eswatini COVID-19 Emergency Response Project . Retrieved from http://documents.worldbank.org: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/488231586518951359/pdf/Project-Information-Document-Eswatini-COVID-19-Emergency-Response-Project-P173883.pdf

World Bank. (2020). Lesotho COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Project (P173939). Washington: World Bank.

World Bank Eswatini Country Team. (2020). Toward Equal Opportunity: Accelerating Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Systematic Country Diagnostic. Washington: World Bank Group.

World Bank Zimbabwe country Programme. (2021). The World Bank In Zimbabwe. Retrieved April 6, 2021, from https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/zimbabwe/overview

World Food Porgamme Eswatini country programme. (n.d). Eswatini. Retrieved from www.wfp.org: https://www.wfp.org/countries/eswatini

Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development(ZIMCODD). (2020). Debt Management in Zimbabwe-Key for sustainable debt management in Zimbabwe. Harare: ZIMCODD.

Zwinoira, T. (2021, May 7). Financial distress to persist for urban poor. Retrieved from www.theindependent.co.zw: https://www.theindependent.co.zw/2021/05/07/financial-distress-to-persist-for-urban-poor/